2025-26 College Football National Championship Odds & Picks
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Scott Kacsmar
- September 9, 2025
In Week 2 of the 2025 college football season, we only had one matchup between top 25 teams, and neither was in the top 12, so we did not see much movement at the top of the odds for the national championship winner.
However, a few ranked teams struggled, including some unimpressive wins by Clemson and LSU after their Week 1 battle. We also saw No. 12 Arizona State fall to Mississippi State and No. 13 Florida had a rough 18-16 home loss to South Florida.
Let’s look at the updated NCAAF odds at top sportsbooks for the CFP title going into Week 3 with some major contenders and sleepers to consider.
2025-26 College Football Championship Odds
CFP Contenders, Sleepers to Watch
Texas (+700)
You don’t have to necessarily get back on the Arch Manning bandwagon, but it was promising that he was able to throw for 295 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 38-7 win over San Jose State. Still, he needs to work on his mechanics and there are rumors that he’s playing through injury at the moment.
But trusting the Texas defense right now may be the power move for your futures bets as the Longhorns have allowed just 21 points in 2 games. They largely held Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin in check in Week 1, and Sayin went off for 306 yards and 4 touchdowns on 18-of-19 passing against Grambling State last week.
The Longhorns are still a major factor in this championship race despite Week 1’s loss. They still have some warm-up games for Manning coming up against UTEP and Sam Houston before SEC play starts and they get more opportunities to make their mark.
Alabama (+1600)
The Crimson Tide rebounded from their Florida State loss with a 73-0 demolition of Louisiana-Monroe. Only 6 teams have better championship odds than Alabama at the moment, but this is not a team to back right now until it proves it can consistently win big games under coach Kalen DeBoer, who has already been under major heat.
Don’t forget about the brutal schedule to come for Alabama with road games against No. 6 Georgia, No. 25 Missouri, No. 11 South Carolina, and No. 24 Auburn. They also have to host teams like No. 15 Tennessee, No. 3 LSU, and No. 13 Oklahoma, so it’s one of the toughest schedules for any school.
Given some of DeBoer’s underwhelming losses to unraked opponents, it’s hardly a lock that Alabama makes the CFP in January given this schedule.
Texas A&M (+3300)
Based on Simple Rating System (SRS) that adjusts for opponents, the No. 16 Aggies are statistically ranked No. 1 in the nation going into Week 3. That’s in large part because they actually played two FBS schools (UTSA and Utah State) instead of schedule non- major cupcakes in Weeks 1-2. They also scored 42 and 44 points in those games with quarterback Marcel Reed off to a nice start (8 total touchdowns, no interceptions).
A sleeper team in the SEC, Texas A&M is a 6.5-point underdog against Notre Dame this weekend. If you’re going to get any shares in them, it’s probably best to do it now before the odds get better should they drop Notre Dame to 0-2.
Bet on the 2025-26 National Championship
Upsets are more common in college football these days as the talent gap between schools decreases with the additions of NIL money and the transfer portal. These games can really shake up the championship odds, so NCAAF futures bets can be a fun and valuable market to bet on during the season. You just have to keep up with these teams on a weekly basis to see how is surging ahead and who is falling behind the pack.
According to Bookmakers Review, a futures bet like who will win the 2025-26 CFP is also a good way to use your bonus bets at sportsbooks as the odds are still long even for the top favorites this early in the season.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
